We have an old Samsung TV that professes to be smart, although we’ve never asked it to demonstrate its powers.
(Our current set up is two satellite dishes connected to a fransat servimat box and a separate hard disc - but that will now be irrelevant)
The new house is Orange fibre and has an orange TV decoder box so that will do for French TV.
But my question is whether there is an EASY way to get UK TV without playing it off a laptop. We have a VPN.
We aren’t interested in buying a new TV, or anything having to hurt our heads with too much technology. We don’t watch much TV and don’t bother with Netflix or any other extra services, just basic UK terrestrial channels.
The house is within 500metres of William the conqueror’s chapel, so not sure dishes would be given permission. Can’t remember precisely what is in the A te de Ventre, but several paragraphs about not altering the exterior.
They won’t stomach external alterations, I suppose.
Something that might be worth considering is an Apple TV box. Friends had one, and in effect all they did was stream whatever they could see on their iPhones, via the box, onto the screen.
I’m about your level of tech numptiness, so it may not be as simple in France. It was your reference to a laptop that made me think of it. I wonder if there’s a similar system for Android.
A dish can be placed on the ground or mounted on a shed.
Any satellite box from your local brico will do the job , or a Sky box. (but may need a large dish, ours is 80 cms but some friends use a Sky dish and others a 60cm)
If you want to take the internet route then a Fire stick or other similar device will suffice once you load your vpn app onto it. ETA just realised the box I listed has IPTV capability but IDK anything about using it.
Depending on how smart your tv is, you can cast or mirror your laptop display to it.
As Notalot says, the satellite service does not have long to go.
Jane aren’t you now located in the north of France? If so a smaller sat dish will work. Some smart TV’s have sat decoders built in but by no means all. If not then a Freesat decoder is needed to hook up the sat dish to the TV. A 4k Freesat box without recording function will set you back£100.
Yes often but I didn’t specify which decoder box, the sky boxes are large and ugly often using the scart connection. The smaller easy to tuck away ones and hdmi connectors being preferred by the gentler sex more often.
The dish can be installed on a gatepost - it doesn’t need to be on the building - this is how we did it on our listed building in UK on a chunky gatepost at the end of the garden.
True, and they are not easy to come by here, which is why I suggested a Leclerc option, at under €60.
As an aside, I get French tv by using an aerial like this one. https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-log-tv-aerial/797jr
Very small and easily mounted. I believe Screwfix delivers to France but I have never used that facility, I bought mine in the UK.
Sounds like you are in the north and already have a capable dish, pointing the wrong way for Freesat.
All you really need is something like this:
I bought one 2 years ago and it works just fine. The problem with the generic sat receivers is the lack of comprehensive program look ahead and preview which are only available on Manhattan and Humax boxes. I eventually bought a used Humax box and I am really happy with it, but if you just want to flip through a few favorite channels, you can find a box for under 30 euros, or I will give you my old one.
Thanks all. I don’t think you quite realise our level of technical uselessness. But…
It works, but means OH can’t use his laptop if I want to watch frills and furbelows which doesn’t interest him. I guess I could get another one. We already use a defunct one just to store mp3s that’s attached to an amp.
Have a 15 year old semi smart phone that is not an iphone.
Tried that here, and failed to work it out. Even with a chromecast dongle.
But still needs a physical connection to the TV? So installation, which OH is allergic to, and I am incapable of now.
The capable dish is being left attached to the house we are leaving in the East, and are moving north.
That is probably the best option for us. But a big moral and technical challenge.
q1. Do I have to get a UK firestick? (Which is possible)
Q2. Are instructions for loading a vpn onto it extremely simple?
Q3 and do you then just slot it into one of the things on back of TV? Which?
It’s just a cable or two, I am still using my old 48cm sky dish all the way down in Tours. A local person should be able to install the dish and point it in the right direction. France has the short flat cables that can pass around a window or door although an installer would make quick work of putting a small hole through and the dish can be out of sight, even ground mounted.
That sounds as if it has potential. Presumably could also run off an ipad, so just needs a wall?
Yes in time. But currently have an awful lot of local people scurrying around different bits of the house, so not sure can cope with more. Regularly have 4 or 5 white vans parked outside door so will be getting a weird reputation of some obscure white van cult.
Regarding the wall, if it’s going to be in place then there are special paints you can buy for making a piece of wall into a screen that really brightens the picture.
